By BRYAN J. BALL

Managing Editor

As some of you know, I lived in Germany for several years. When I lived there, I attended five years in a row of the Spezialradmesse (which translates to Special Bike Show) in Germersheim. Spezi (as it’s more commonly known) is a truly unique spectacle. The atmosphere is amazing and everything on display is interesting if for nothing else other than to say “why did they do that?” There are no cookie-cutter diamond frame bikes here. Even the parking area for bicycles is packed with fantastic recumbents and folders and cargobikes. It also has hands down the best food of any bike show in the world. What else could you ask for?

The main story of the show itself was definitely the proliferation of e-assist. Primarily the Shimano STEPs system. It seemed to be everywhere. And for me personally, the chance to get to ride almost every velomobile currently produced back-to-back-to-back was fantastic. I tried to cover as much of the show as I could but I admit that a lot of time was spent getting reacquainted with old friends and contacts from years gone by. Next year, I’m bringing my wife to help split the coverage duties.

We’ve covered the new Windcheetah F.R.O. (For Race Only) before but this is the first time I’ve gotten to see one in person. The differences between this trike and other “more common” Windcheetahs is the all carbon tubing and magnesium lugs. It has a 220 lb weight limit and starts at about $6000. It’s truly a beauty to see in person. It was great to meet Karl, the newish owner of AVD, and get more details on their plans moving forward. I took a ride on Karl’s personal trike (a Hypersport) and it definitely seemed like an improvement over the last Windcheetah I rode a decade ago. I’m happy to say that it looks like we will finally have a review trike in the fall.

Like other trike manufacturers at Spezi, AZUB was showing off a new electric-assist option for their trikes. AZUB has chosen the excellent Shimano STEPS system. It’s very well-integrated and I’m sure that it will be a very popular option. AZUB prefers to set up the STEPs with a Nuvinci hub but other options are available. AZUB’s large booth also had several stunning examples of what their custom color shop is capable of and the company’s new line of tee shirts and jerseys. There was also a live assembly demonstration which was very cool to watch for obsessed people like me.

Steintrikes definitely made a splash at Spezi. Steintrikes look wild enough in a plain color. When you add in the wild color schemes they chose for their show trikes, they become impossible to ignore. The new innovations that they were showing were a seat and fenders with integrated LED’s and a prototype Wild One with fat tires. There is no decision on production for the latter as of yet.

This was my first experience with the Mulsanne Velomobile from Cycles JV. Ingress and egress are easier than any other velomobile I’ve ever ridden. The example that was available on the test track was a prototype and fit a little tight around the shoulders but I was told that production version is a bit wider. The finish on the customer example on the stand was very good. The shape is definitely very attractive and gives good visibility for the rider.

Veltop was eager to show me their two recumbent-specific soft top attachments. This is primarily because they are selling a bunch of their Sun 3 models in the United States, mostly in Florida. As the name would indicate, the Sun 3 is designed mostly with the aim of keeping the sun off of the rider. The more robust Recumbent 3 Fix is designed to provide much more weather protection for rain, cold and what not. Prices are about $550 for the Fix and $300 for the Sun. We’ll have a review coming soon.

It’s easy to classify the eCVelo Challenger as just a shell that fits on an AZUB trike, but it’s much more than that. There are integrated electronics, superb quality and the whole package feels like it was built as one unit. There are fully enclosed, open top, human powered and e-assist versions available.

Flux is a brand that you’ve probably not heard of much in the USA because they don’t import here. However, I include them because I’ve always loved their bikes. The bike pictured is an S-Comp 26 and an object of my extreme desire. It’s a fast-ish but very practical recumbent and looks fantastic. Handling is also outstanding. If I want to review one, I’d have to buy it on my next visit and that’s not totally out of the realm of possibility.

HPVelotchnik had a massive booth at Spezi. I also toured their factory a couple of days before the show and it was just as impressive as the huge booth was. (That article is coming soon.) The big new development they had on display was a Pedelec version of the standard Scorpion. This will be much less expensive than the Scorpion FS Pedelec. We hope to have one soon. There will also be a Shimano STEPs system with automatic shifting available in addition to the GoSwiss they’ve been using for the last few years.

The big news at ICE is their move to include more electric assist options. In addition to the popular and excellent STEPs option, ICE was also showing another E-assist system from neodrives. The STEPs option will cost around $2500 and will be available from the end of June. ICE has also improved some of their aesthetics. For example, the elastomers are no longer color-coded but marked so that you don’t have to worry about your elastomers not matching your trike.

This was my first close look at the DF Velomobile. I was understandably impressed. The finish on the DF is beautiful, especially on the naked carbon versions. I learned a bit more than I ever knew about the DF. For example, there is a custom narrow Q-Factor crankset. The company was also showing a new four-wheel prototype. A more finished version of this prototype will be shown next year at Spezi. It uses a Rohloff hub as a mid-drive which means it has a whopping 140 gears.

Jouta of the Netherlands was sharing a booth with Trident Trikes. Jouta has burst onto the scene in a big way in Europe much as Trident did in the USA a few years ago. They use the same formula that their partner has employed in America. Good trikes and quads at a reasonable price. Their primary attraction was a version of their very reasonably-priced Quad with fat tires.

Katanga is the new manufacturer of the WAW velomobile. When I first saw a Katanga-built WAW up close I was immediately struck by the build quality. Of the major velomobile manufacturers, you won’t find a shoddy one amongst them, but the WAW is on another level. It also really fit my body size well and I really liked the somewhat-controversial sidestick steering arrangement. It’s not the fastest velomobile on the market anymore but it’s still in the upper echelon.

I last saw the Kervelo direct-drive FWD concept at Recumbent Cycle-Con in October. I was shocked to see how far the company had come in the span of several months. The bikes and trikes that Kervelo was showing at Spezi were light years beyond what they had at RCC. The leaning trike version was much easier to ride and the two-wheeler was much better finished. In the days after Spezi, Kervelo has also shown a lowracer version. That’s the beauty of their design. All of the important bits are contained in the front and the rest is up to the imagination.

KMX was on-hand showing off a new folding trike called the Koyote. It’s a new folding trike with an improved seat. It has 20 speeds and front discs brakes. They’ve also adjusted their other models so that 20” front wheels are standard on all models.

Rader Werk is the manufacturer of the Milan velomobile. The Milan SL now manufactured in Romania. The frame has been stiffened and new carbon swingarm is coming soon. There’s also a new access hatch for maintenance. Rader Werk is aiming for a six-month deliver time in the near future.

Trident was the only American recumbent company that made the trip over and I was glad they did. Their new full suspension fat quad was on display and quite popular on the test track. The drive system and suspension was very well done. And the good news is that the rear can be added to any Trekker trike and the front suspension will be adaptable to almost all of their trikes. I also rode an improved version of the Terrain Fat Trike and was quite happy with the improvements in handling.

This was my first opportunity to see a Velomo Hi-Trike in person and get a brief ride. It definitely lived up the hype. The leaf spring front suspension worked very well and the tiller steering was intuitive and predictable. It comes in several different flavors from all-out racer to touring. Deliveries should begin soon. There was also a quad concept on-hand that is still in development.

Velomobiel was showing their Quattrovelo four-wheel velomobile. I got a ride and really liked it. It definitely feels big but it has tons of cargo space and looks fantastic in person. Photos really don’t do it justice. Velomobiel has gone a long way towards shortening their delivery times and has plans in place to make them even shorter.

The Wolf & Wolf Alpentourer AT1 was one of the highlights of the show for me. I first saw it on our message boards about a year ago and thought it looked like something I’d really like. I was correct. Think a lower Lightning P-38 optimized for touring and you kind of get the idea. Handling is superb and it the steel frame gives a very “old-school” sort of feel. It uses a single-sided fork to help with chain management. I’m very eager to get more time on one.

I’ve put many many miles on ZOX FWD recumbents over the years so I was eager to see what they had next. First off was the ZOX 28 highracer with dual 700C wheels. It’s a very sweet handling bike and the purple color they had on the show bike was outstanding. ZOX was also showing a new version of their delta trike with two rear wheels placed closely together for added traction.

Thanks for reading! I’ll end this coverage with a gallery of the general atmosphere at Spezi.